Blog:Sara Lee sells Courtaulds

It’s a sad day when the once-mighty Courtaulds has to be effectively given away due to lack of interest from cash-ready buyers. Back in June 2000, Sara Lee paid GBP150.5m (US$230m) for the UK’s largest producer of intimate apparel and underwear, which then had annual sales of US$1.5bn. Last year, it had sales of just one-third of this, at US$560m. And today, adding insult to injury, is the news that Sara Lee has also had to stump up impairment charges of US$34m. None of the purchasers have revealed their future plans for the acquisitions, but Sara Lee is no doubt relieved that this chapter in its history is nearing an end.

Surviving in a declining market is the biggest challenge for discount/mass-market retailers and suppliers of commodity products such as basic T-shirts, hoodies or cotton men's shirts – which is why it...